Ever Dream
by CJ Moliere
Summary: Sequel to Dark Passion Play. Robert Gold and Belle Chamonceaux are now married but there are still issues from their pasts that they are still struggling to resolve along with new complications when Belle becomes pregnant and Robert's teenage son Neal is coping with a few issues of his own.
1. Chapter 1

Sharing a bed with someone for the first time in years was still taking time for Robert to get used to. He'd lost count of how many times he would be woken out of a deep sleep hearing the sleepy voice of Belle telling him to move over or move whatever body part of his was in the way because he had a habit of sprawling out. He was trying to be accommodating but most of the time it failed miserably. Then there were times when he would be the one waking Belle up asking her if she would mind giving him some of the covers back because it was getting drafty in the room. She would comply...then later on they would be gone again. For the first three months of their relationship neither of them could get a decent night's sleep as they worked to break each other of the annoying habits they had when they were still single and many times it lead to them snapping at each other. Fortunately they either talked it out together or they scheduled a joint session with Dr. Hopper.

They both knew going into the relationship and once they got married that it wasn't going to be without its problems and they weren't just restricted to their sleeping arrangements. Both of them still had self-confidence issues, especially Robert. There were so many times when he would ask himself what the hell a woman as beautiful and talented as Belle wanted with him when he was almost twice her again and he certainly didn't consider himself handsome. It was even worse when they were out in public and he caught younger, more attractive men staring at her and keeping his temper in check proved difficult, especially when they approached her. When it occurred one night while they were having dinner he got up from the table and walked out of the restaurant, leaving her sitting there wondering what was wrong with him.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" she demanded angrily as he was trying to flag down a taxi.

"Home!" he barked.

"What's wrong with you?" she cried.

"Not a damned thing."

"Oh, so you're just acting like a jerk for the hell of it?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Don't do this Robert, please," she begged as she reached for his hand. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

He spun around, glaring at her. "Do you really want to know? All right, I'll tell you. Do you know what it does to me every time I see all those men hoving over you like a pack of dogs in heat? It makes me sick because I see them looking at the two of us together and laughing at me because a woman like you doesn't belong with someone like me!"

"I'll be the one to decide who I belong with and its not one of those other men!" Belle cried. "And we are not talking about this here."

The drive home was a tense one. Neither of them spoke. Robert was still seething and Belle was still trying to recover from the shock that an issue they thought they'd worked out at the beginning of their relationship still lingered. She'd forgotten just how much damage Robert's ex-wife and Regina's mother had done to his self-confidence, both of them leaving him for someone else because they made him feel he wasn't good enough for them. She'd told him once before that she only wanted him, baggage and all but it seemed he was still having trouble believing it.

Once they were back at the house, Belle led him into the living room and made him sit down before he had a chance to go down to the basement to unleash his wrath on something there as he'd done in the past. He'd stopped having those episodes once they became a couple and she was determined that they would never happen again.

"I want to be with _you_," she said softly. "I want to be with you because I love you."

"I just don't want you to look back on all this in a few years and regret it," he confessed sadly.

"It takes two people to end a relationship, Robert. I want this to work and so do you otherwise you wouldn't be sitting here talking to me."

"I hate feeling like this," he muttered.

"I don't like when you try to hide it either," she informed him.

"I'm trying Belle, I really am."

"I know you are," she said and kissed him.

They talked for a while longer until Robert glanced over at the clock, frowning. "Now where is that boy of mine? He knows he's supposed to be home before nine and it's almost nine-thirty." He dug his cellphone out of his pocket and was about to call Neal when the boy walked in the door. Robert rose from the sofa and walked out in the hallway to meet him. "You're late," he scolded.

"I know..." Neal said indifferently.

"Why?"

"Ummm...lost track of time?"

"You might want to keep better track of it in the future," Robert advised.

"It was only half an hour!" Neal protested.

"That doesn't matter. You know you're supposed to be home at nine. No excuses!"

"It's bullshit!" Neal said angrly. "Other kids get to stay out late on weekends! Let go of the leash a little, will ya!"

"Neal!" Belle snapped. "How dare you talk to your father like that?!"

"You're not my mother!"

"No, I'm not but I am his wife and I am not going to stand here and listen to you disrespect him!"

"Belle, I can handle this." Robert said calmly. "You have no idea of just how tight I can make that leash if this little attitude problem of yours keeps up Neal Byron Gold! I don't know what's gotten into you lately but I am not liking it one bit."

"I don't care!"

"Oh you will," Robert growled. "Because I am not putting up with it. You're not going out of this house except to school for the next two months and you can kiss your phone, laptop and tablet goodbye again because they're mine."

"Whatever!" Neal yelled and stomped upstairs to his room, slamming the door.

Belle noticed that Neal's demeanor had changed a month after their wedding. She was shocked. Neal had been one of the reasons she and Robert got together in the first place but now it seemed that he was unhappy about it. After all, it had only been the two of them for so long.

"Sometimes that boy reminds me so much of myself that it scares the hell out of me," Robert murmured. "I expected this kind of behavior when he was younger, not now."

"I think...he's jealous..."

"Of what?"

"Me...and that you two won't be able to spend as much time together as you used to."

"We don't but it's not just because we're married. He's with Emma almost every night and thinking about what they could be doing has me more worried than his attitude."

"I'll go talk to him," Belle said.

When she entered Neal's room she found him lying on his bed glaring up at the ceiling. She sat down on the edge of the bed.

"You gonna tell me off now?"

"No, but I do want to talk about how you've been treating Robert lately. It has to stop."

"You're not..."

"Your mother," Belle finished. "I know. You keep reminding me of that but I do think of you as my son now and I don't want there to be tension in this family. It's not good for any of us. Look, I understand why you might feel a bit jealous. You and Robert only had each other for so long and you think because I'm here I'm taking him away from you. That's not it at all."

"You're gonna have another kid," Neal pointed out.

"You were so happy about that before. What changed your mind?"

"Because then you'll spend most of your time with it."

"We'll spend a lot of time with the baby, yes but that doesn't mean we'll forget about you. We have enough love in our hearts for both of you. Now, give me a hug."

He smiled and embraced her. "I'm sorry Belle."

"Now you need to apologize to your father."

Robert was about to go to their bedroom when Belle walked out of Neal's room with him behind her. Neal had his head bowed.

"I'm sorry," he said softly and threw his arms around his father.

"I know...but you're still grounded. I won't tolerate a bad attitude, Neal. You know that," Robert informed him. "And when I set a curfew I expect you to follow it."

"I will," he promised and returned to his room while Robert and Belle retired to theirs.

"Is this what we'll have to look forward to when the baby gets older?" Belle asked worriedly.

"A lot of kids have a rebel phase, sweetheart. I was worried he'd start feeling jealous once he sat down and thought about us having a baby. That's what he told you, wasn't it?"

She nodded. "I can understand where he was coming from and so should you since we were only children. We'll just have to make sure we keep finding ways to spend more time with him. Me taking time off to have the baby should help and you've already started lightening your work load. It's a start."

"Hopefully, this is the last of the issues we'll have to deal with tonight," Robert said with a laugh and turned over to go to sleep while Belle stayed awake, scolding herself for being a hypocrite and telling Robert she didn't like him hiding anything from her when she was hiding something from him. While he still had a deep fear that she would leave him for another, younger man, she was terrified that she was going to be a terrible mother to their child because she knew nothing about taking care of a baby.

_I guess we all have a lot of issues to work on, _she thought as she lay down beside her husband.


	2. Chapter 2

Robert was not a patient man and he was also a stubborn one. He'd been told numerous times to make some changes in his lifestyle to improve his health yet it was easier said than done. He was making an effort, just not enough of one to satisfy his doctor and his appointment that day was more of a lecture than anything. He lay on the exam table glaring up at the ceiling and wishing the man would just shut the hell up and let him go on his way since he had a ton of work to do before he headed home.

He and the bottle parted ways years earlier but now he was having a difficult time breaking his smoking habit. He'd needed a better way to cope with his stress than destroying things in the basement when the methods Dr. Hopper taught him didn't work. Then one day Jefferson gave him a cigarette, suggesting it would help calm his nerves. He'd never smoked a day in his life and broke into a coughing fit while he tried to inhale properly. Now he smoked two packs a day and it wasn't easy trying to hide it from Belle. He was forced to go around the house spraying Febreeze in the rooms he smoked in to try to mask the odor, chew on gum, or gargle Listerene so that she wouldn't smell it on his breath when they kissed. He hated keeping it from her but she detested cigarettes as much as marijuana. The times he did try to quit, he ended up going on eating binges and now the doctor was scolding him for the extra pounds he carried too because it was harder to lose them at his age.

He thought his life was complicated when he was single but it was even more so now that he was married again. He was going to be a father again in less than six months and the closer Belle's due date was, the more nervous he felt. He didn't want to screw up and he was worried he wouldn't have the energy to keep up with a baby now and once again the child's mother was going to be new to all of it. He still feared in the back of his mind that Belle would take a second look at their relationship and decide it wasn't what she wanted and he would be left with two children to take care of, not just one. In a year Neal would be eighteen and going off to college while his sibling would be entering the terrible twos. He needed a cigarette...badly and as soon as he was dismissed from the doctor's office, he fished the pack out of his pocket and lit up.

Making matters worse, one of his contacts in the DA's office informed him there was a possibility Maurice Chamonceaux would be released from prison earlier than he anticipated. The _last_ thing he wanted was Belle's theiving father coming around and stirring up trouble and the justice system was sleeping on the job. Just when he thought things couldn't possibly get any worse his phone was flashing with an urgent text from Regina.

_She wants to move HERE! Robert, you have to help me. I don't want her here. She'll ruin everything!_

He had three guesses as to who _she_ was and the first two didn't count. He would sooner see hell freeze over than have to deal with Cora again. Now that Regina was an Academy Award winning actress, her mother wanted to bask in her glory. Typical of Cora. She was the stage mother from hell and would even give Mama Rose a run for her money. He could see her strutting around singing 'Everything's Coming Up Roses' and seizing every photo op she could. He piched the bridge of his nose and shook his head, already feeling his blood pressure going through the roof.

_Just what is it you want __**me**__ to do, dearie? Kill her? As tempting as that is, not interested. What reason did she give for wanting to move here? _

_Her husband's dead. _

_Oh? Natural causes or did she move it along? _

_How the hell should I know!? Wouldn't surprise me if she did. Please, Robert...talk to her..._

_I'd rather talk to a wall. She won't listen to me. This is your problem. You want her out of your life, you find a way to do it yourself. _

_Look, you and I both know she won't just be __**my**__ problem when she gets here so you'd better help me. _

_I'm married now, dearie. _

_Didn't stop her before, did it? _

_One time, Regina...and I was a bit drunk and pissed at Milah. _

_A bit drunk? You were shit faced and didn't know whether you were coming or going. _

_Don't remind me of this again. I'd like to forget it ever happened. _

Now he was craving a drink more than a cigarette and he didn't need to fall of the wagon again, not now. He called Dr. Hopper's office and begged the receptionist to see if she could squeeze him in for an emergency appointment.

Later that afternoon Belle met with the rest of the band to record more tracks for their upcoming album, _Feed The Madness. _Ariel was going to be handling most of the lead vocals on the album with Graham but they all agreed that Belle would take the lead on at least three songs, her voice sounding stronger than ever even after Gaston's attack. They also wanted to discuss the possibility of joining the Warped Tour.

"I don't think Robert will agree to it," Belle said. "It's a great way for us to gain more exposure here in the US but he's heard too many stories about how some of the band conflicts."

"Anybody that tries to screw with us gets their asses kicked," Leroy growled.

"You already have too many arrests on your record. Let's not add more to it," Belle said firmly.

"Just promise you'll mention it to him," Ariel pleaded.

"I'll mention it but his answer's going to be no. Also I won't be able to go because I'll be at home with the baby." She sat down and put her feet up on the chair beside her. She was starting to show and it was making her own self-confidence issues rear their ugly heads. She would just get bigger as the months went on...what if Robert lost interest in her and found someone else? He always thought she would be the one to leave but what if _he_ decided _he_ didn't want to deal with all of that at his age and left _her_? She burst into tears. Ariel ordered the men to leave the room while she talked to Belle alone.

"Are you and Robert having problems?" Ariel demanded.

"Most of it is in our heads," Belle sobbed. "He...gets upset when other men look at me and he's afraid I'll leave. I don't want to leave him. I love him...but what if he decides he doesn't want to deal with all of this and leave me? It would kill me!"

"Have you told him this, Belle?"

"I...I can't...Or...what if I lose the baby like Mum lost my brother...It drove my parents apart!"

"You two need to talk these things out or your marriage will be over before it starts," Ariel cautioned and hugged her friend. "Go on...find him, sit him down and talk everything out. You have to."

Belle was surprised when she showed up at Dr. Hopper's office and found Robert out in the waiting room. They didn't have their joint session until the end of the week and she knew his appointment was supposed to be in two days. Hers was always at the beginning of the week but she called Dr. Hopper's office and asked if she could make an emergency appointment. To her great relief the doctor was willing to accomodate her and it seemed he needed to accomodate Robert as well. She reached across the chair and took his hand in hers.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gold...Dr. Hopper will see you now."

They were still holding hands when they walked into his office.

"We had another fight," Belle said sadly once they were sitting on the sofa.

"Was there any physical violence involved?"

"Oh God, no!" she cried.

"I would never raise my hand to her or any woman!" Robert protested. "We...ummmm talked it out but I so was damned mad."

"Over nothing!"

"Why don't you start at the beginning," Dr. Hopper suggested. "What started the argument?"

Belle sighed as she recalled the incident at the restaurant. "I just wish he would stop putting himself down," Belle sobbed. "He says he can't understand why a beautiful woman like me would love an ugly man. He's not ugly, dammit! I feel..I feel like he's trying to push me away again and I thought we were past all that!"

"Sooner or later you're going to realize I'm right Belle and you'll want to leave on your own," Robert confessed.

"I AM NOT CORA OR MILAH!" she shouted. "I love you and I am not going to abandon you...but you...you'll leave me."

"What?!" Robert gasped. "You think _I_ would leave _you_? Why?"

"I'm gonna get fat...I don't know how to take care of a baby...you won't want me anymore..." she babbled while he stared at her in shock. Was she out of her mind? He_adored_ her.

"Belle, why do you feel Robert will not be attracted to you now that you're pregnant?"

"I...It happened to my Mum," Belle sobbed. "Papa cheated on her...the whole time she was pregnant with me...because she wasn't always in the mood to...and then when I was born and my brother died...they didn't sleep together at all. And...Robert told me he didn't sleep with Milah while she was pregnant."

"Oh God!" Robert moaned, burying his face in his hands and shaking his head regretting ever sharing that piece of information with her. "Belle, it wasn't my choice to stop sleeping with her...it was _hers_. I told you that! And I'll want you no matter what you look like!"

His anxiety got the best of him and although he knew the doctor didn't permit smoking in the office, he retrieved his pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one up, his hands shaking while he smoked it.

"You've been smoking!" Belle said angrily.

"Ummm...yeah..." he said nervously. This was not how he wanted her to find out. "Sorry Dr. Hopper...I'll put it out." He jumped up and ran into the bathroom, dousing the cigarette in the sink and tossed it into the toilet. Belle glared at him when he sat back down.

"That is the last thing you need to be doing with your blood pressure so high!" she scolded. "Are you trying to drive yourself to an early grave?!"

"All right, let's calm down and discuss this," Dr. Hopper said gently. "Belle, you obviously don't approve of Robert's smoking habit."

"No, I don't. It's not good for him. Nor is it good for me or the baby!"

"I'm trying to quit," he protested.

They stayed at Hopper's office for two hours, him acting as a mediator while they brought up each other's issues and talked them out. Even with all the baggage, they loved each other deeply and were trying to make their marriage work. He dealt with so many couples who found it easier to just give up rather than stay and fight. They both felt better after the session.

Once they got home, Belle was about to go into the office and work on the Once Upon a Time book when she felt Robert's arms around her waist.

"Neal won't be home til later and we have the house to ourselves," he murmured. She smiled. She couldn't stand it when they argued and loved it that no matter how bad their arguments were, they always made up and never went to bed angry. She turned around and kissed him.

"And I can't think of a better way to pass the time than in bed..." she whispered.

Over at Emma Swan's house, Neal was holding his girlfriend in his arms as she sobbed. He knew he was risking his father's wrath by not going right home after school but when he didn't see her there he was worried and called her at home. She told him she needed to see him anyway.

"Why don't we wait til you're sure?" he asked her, trying his best to maintain his composure although he was frightened to death. "You...you've had this happen before...and it wasn't..."

"What if it's not!" she cried. "We'll have to tell them and they'll kill us! I don't know what your dad will do but my parents...they'll kick me out. I know they will."

"Em, they're not that bad!"

"You don't live with them!"

"They're nice to me when I'm here and they seem to treat you okay."

Emma scoffed. "All an act. They don't love me. They're not even my real parents. I'm...I'm their foster kid."

"Huh? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want to bother you with it."

"So who are your real parents?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you. Oh God...Neal...I don't know what to do!"

"We'll figure it out, Em," he assured her.

Emma Swan prided herself on not being afraid of anything and not letting anyone see her broken but now she was terrified. If what she believed was true, she didn't want to face it alone. Neal was being kind to her now, but what would happen later on?

Neal wanted to be strong for Emma but he was just as terrified as she was. Still, he loved her and couldn't let her face what she was facing alone. It was getting late and he knew his father would be furious with him for breaking curfew but he didn't care. Right now Emma was all that mattered.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Notes: This is a bit fluffy with a hint of raciness but I figured Rob and Belle need a little of it and what couple doesn't do silly and outrageous things like this once in a while? **

As soon as she saw him reach for his pack of cigarettes, Belle snatched them out of Robert's hand and ran into the bathroom, flushing all of the down the toilet then turned around to see him standing in the doorway, an amused grin on his face.

"There'll be no after sex cigarettes in this house," she informed him. "Will I be finding any more packs laying around if I search the house?"

"No...I smoked the other one but sweetheart...I don't know if I can go cold turkey. I tried and all I'm going to do is get fat."

"Maybe we can try one of those electronic cigarettes on you for a while...or Chantix."

"My doctor suggested that but he's a bit concerned about the side effects...one of them is depression and...I really don't want to go through all that again. Maybe I'd be better off using the gum."

"I know this isn't going to be easy for you but I love you for trying."

"The only problem is...since I can't smoke, I want to eat."

She laughed. "Well, we did just work up quite an appetite, didn't we?"

They attacked the kitchen with a vengeance, both famished but neither of them could decide what they wanted and in a matter of minutes the dining room table was covered with food. They glanced down at the table and burst into laughter.

"You'd think there were two of us pregnant here!" Robert exclaimed.

"Hand over the peanut butter and no one gets hurt!" Belle demanded with a smirk.

"It's mine!" Robert said, cradling the jar protectively.

"Oh, then I guess you don't want these, do you?" Belle taunted, holding up sticks of celery. "You could've had celery smothered in peanut butter but you can just forget it now because _I am going to eat them all in ranch dip!_"

"You wouldn't _dare_..."

She dunked the first piece into the container of ranch dip and took a bite.

"The blasphemy! The only thing that belongs on my celery is peanut butter! Two can play at this game, dearie. Ohhh, look at this...a brand new tub of Cool Whip..." he drawled and snatched it up. "And what's that you have over there? Why it's a lonely package of strawberries...but they're not gonna get any Cool Whip on them because I'm going to take this bag of pretzels and smother them in it!"

"No! Not the pretzels...anything but the pretzels!" she cried.

"Hand over the celery or the Cool Whip gets it!" Robert teased, his hand with a pretzel in it poised over the open tub of Cool Whip. "Is that a no then? Ah well, here goes!"

"Oh gross!" Belle moaned when he smothered the pretzel in Cool Whip and popped it into his mouth. "My Cool Whip...my sweet delicious Cool Whip...ruined by pretzel salt!"

"You insult my celery with your vile ranch dip."

"You like ranch dip!"

"Not on my celery!"

"Ohhhh...well where would you like me to put it?" she inquired suggestively.

"I can tell you exactly where I want you to put it," he growled, stalking over to her side of the table and lifting her up onto it before she had a chance to say anything more. She could hear items crashing to the floor while they lay back on it. He grabbed the container of ranch dip, thrust his fingers into it and smeared it onto her chest just above the bodice of her nightgown while she grabbed the peanut butter jar and smeared some of it onto the side of his neck. He lowered his head to her chest and started licking away the dip.

"Now this..." Robert murmured. "is...the right way to eat ranch dip!"

"And this...is the best way to eat peanut butter," Belle purred, turning his head at just the right angle to enjoy her own snack, unable to remember a time when she'd ever done something so bold before but she wasn't going to complain, not when he was obviously enjoying it as much as she was. She suddenly remembered one of her friends saying that Robert couldn't do anything sexy at his age, wanting to laugh if said friend saw them now.

_You see this, Jessi? Yes, this is me, sprawled on my dining room table with my sexy older husband on top of me letting him smear ranch dip on me and lick it off while I smear him with peanut butter and lick __**that**__ off... so if you think my husband's not sexy at his age, you've got another thing coming! _

He'd never be able to wear his pajama top again due to several buttons being popped off in her eagerness to take it off so that she could have an unobstructed view of the chest she admired nor would she be able to wear that nightgown again after he'd broken the straps pulling it down past her breasts. She was beginning to think it would be a wiser idea if they just slept naked from then on out and she wished he would not take his sweet time getting them naked now but Robert had always been a take things slow kind of man. She loved that about him but not when she was about to burst.

It wasn't the most comfortable place to make love but she'd unfortunately been in worse places and if she had to choose between making love with Robert on his dining room table or having sex with Gaston in the backseat of his car while he was drunk and tried getting her high, she preferred being with Robert. She knew they would have to be more careful the closer her due date came but for now she loved the boldness he was displaying because it showed her that he was growing more confident as her husband and lover.

"What a mess," Robert remarked afterwards while they lay in each other's arms and looked down at the floor, littered with the contents of the table and their discarded clothing.

Belle giggled. "I'll never be able to look at a jar of peanut butter again without imagining putting it all over you again."

"And I've developed a fondness for Belle with ranch dip."

"The next time we do this in bed. My back gonna kill me in the morning!"

"My leg's screaming bloody murder right now and we'd better get this cleaned up or there will be bloody murder when Granny sees the mess."

They set to work cleaning up the dining room, Belle trying to keep herself covered as best she could with Robert's pajama top that was missing a few buttons where they were needed, not that he cared. She looked beautiful to him even when she didn't have a stitch of clothing on. After the dining room was cleaned and the trash thrown out, the couple retreated to their bedroom, both of them too exhausted to do anything else but snuggle together until they fell asleep.

Neal snuck in hours later, relieved when he didn't see his father or Belle around. His father would be furious with him for breaking curfew but he had no other choice. Seeing that the coast was clear, he motioned for Emma to follow him in. She was much calmer than she had been earlier. He knew that was because she was finally out of her foster parents' home. They walked in on her and Neal talking her being pregnant. A terrible argument ensued and the foster parents threw her out of the house, telling her that she was Neal's responsibility now.

"Your dad's gonna be mad, Neal."

"We'll deal with it Em," he said bravely.

"He'll kick me out too."

"No he won't. He'll be mad but he won't kick you out. He's better than that," he said, opening the door to the guest bedroom and setting her suitcase on the bed. She threw her arms around him and kissed him. "It's gonna be okay Em."

"I'm scared shitless Neal. We're both too young to have a kid!"

"It could just be a false alarm like before."

"I don't think so...I'm having too many other symptoms…sorta like Belle did before your dad took her to the doctor."

"Well I'm not gonna let you have it alone!" he vowed.

She could only hope he meant it. He left her alone to change into her nightclothes which for her were a tank top and boy shorts, returning with a bottle of water for her to drink from in case she got thirsty during the night.

"The bathroom's down at the end of the hall."

"Neal, don't you think you should tell your dad I'm here?"

"I don't want to wake him and Belle up. They've had a rough couple of days. We'll tell him in the morning, okay?"

"Okay," she murmured when she lay down. "Love you, Neal."

He smiled. "I love you too Em."

The smile was still on his face when he lay down to sleep himself. He'd been waiting a long time to hear her say it and he hoped she knew he always meant it when he said it. They were too young to have a baby but he loved her enough that he would stay by her side. It was what a good man did. It was what his father did even if his own mother had been the bitch from hell. He just hoped they wouldn't grow to resent each other like his parents did.


End file.
